Digimon: The Final Chronicle
by FireStormWarning
Summary: Cheisu Shukumei is a normal highschool student who holds fond memories from his younger days as a fan of the Digimon Franchise... after all, that's all it really is right? Or is it? Strange dreams have begun to haunt Cheisu, and it seems that perhaps the Digital World is more real than he first believed... Will he heed its call? What will destiny have in store for him when he does?
1. Chapter 1: How It All Began Again

The story I am about to share with you is absolutely true. I know this may seem hard to believe. Even now, a year after it all happened, I still am unsure that I believe it. I ask you to suspend your skepticism, just for now, just long enough to listen. My name is Shukumei Cheisu, and this is my tale.

**Introduction: Where It All Began**

No matter how old you are, you should remember the fads that came and went as you grew: those items and people who were unknown one day, hot the next, and then the day after that… were not.

My fad was Digimon. Even when I was six years old I was obsessed with it. I watched the television shows, I had to have the plush animals and electronic toys. I had a digimon-based backpack and a Digimon lunchbox. I collected the cards, and I mastered the game. For seven years, my life almost literally _was _Digimon! For a time, I even started to dream that Digimon not only _might be _real… but in fact _was_ real!

Unfortunately, like all fads, Digimon's popularity soon faded. Like Tamagotchis, Pokemon, and other fads of that nature, people lost interest, and instead found interest in other things. As I grew up, I found people telling me how childish it was to entertain myself with such impossible concepts as computer monsters, fantastic battles, saving the world… and sadly, I found myself believing them.

So I drifted away. I threw away my cards, and I gave away my plush dolls. I turned off the television and began to focus on my studies. I sold off all of my Digimon toys… except one… and soon, even my dreams had faded. The last traces of that far-off Digital World left to me were the small, desperate cries of a single digimon… cries that, by the time I was sixteen, had gone silent. I moved on with life. I found and lost human friends. I went on dates and went to parties. I even took an interest in my school's computer club, and for a time, I forgot just how alone I felt. I thought my Digital adventures over for good… but destiny is a funny thing. It has a way of sneaking up when we least expect it… and what it had in store for me, I will never forget to the day I die.

**Chapter One: How It All Began… Again**

"_Cheisu!" The cry echoed across the forest, scared and lonely. She ran. Her lungs burned. Her short legs ached, but she couldn't stop… not if she expected to evade the shadows pursuing her. Even now her pointed ears could hear the growling of her antagonists. She could feel the heat of their breath on her long, fluffy tail. She could imagine the snapping of their teeth, and through the trees she thought she could see them. Their shapes were obscured, but that made them no less frightening. She could easily make out the glowing red eyes, eyes that burned with anger, with hatred._

_ She veered to her left, but even then she was followed. The trees around her thinned, and now she thought she heard the sound of rushing water. A river perhaps? She rushed toward it. Soon, the trees had stopped growing altogether. Briefly she glanced up, staring into the clouded night sky. When she turned her attention back to her path, she found herself skidding to a halt. The stones and dirt below tore at her soft paws. By the time her momentum had stopped, she found herself looking into the river… over the edge of a sheer precipice. She gulped and turned around as the shadows emerged from the forest behind her. "End of the line for you, little pest," the leader snarled, "A pity… Such a nice tail you had too." She backed up, her rear paw dangerously close to the edge. _

_ "Cheisu!"_

"Cheisu, wake up!"

My eyes flashed open and I bolted upright. "Viximon!" I cried.

"Viximon? Who's that? Are you talking about that kids' game again?"

It was my best friend, Kiken. He was seventeen years old, and a junior at Odaiba Highschool just as I was. His had his long, dark hair slicked back, ending in messy waves that spiked out from behind his neck. His brown eyes sparkled with curious amusement. His lips were pursed together, and it looked like he was barely stifling a laugh. He leaned over my desk and stared into my eyes. "C'mon!" he said, "The bell rang five minutes ago. Everybody's gone home."

I closed my eyes again and rubbed my temples. Here I was, sitting in the middle of my classroom while my teacher, Mr. Kyoshi, worked at his desk, in the middle of a bright, warm autumn afternoon, and the only thing I could think about was that dark forest. The birds sang merrily outside the windows, but all I could hear were the cries of that little digimon… calling me.

Kiken tapped his foot impatiently. "C'mon already!" he demanded, "If we stick around here, Mr. Kyoshi's likely to give us even more homework than we've already got!"

I stood up and grabbed the black leather backpack from behind my chair. "Sorry Kiken," I groaned, "I must have drifted off. I had this really weird dream though." As Kiken and I walked from the classroom into the near-abandoned halls, I began to describe my dream to him. "I haven't had a dream like that in more than a year," I told him when I was through, "I know it probably sounds crazy, but that Viximon… there was something familiar about her, like I'd met her before somewhere."

Kiken laughed and rolled his eyes. As we reached our black-painted lockers, Kiken looked over at me. "What I think is that it's been too long since you've had a girl," he commented, "How long as it been anyway, buddy?"

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. Kiken was a jock in every sense of the word. He was a star athlete, the idol of just about every girl in school. Any sport you could name he played, and he played it well. Of course, whatever brainpower he had, he tended to focus on just one thing: how to get all the hottest girls to sleep with him before the year was up.

"For your information, Keirei and I only broke up a month ago," I said, "That's not it at all. Ugh… Forget it." I turned and headed down the hall. "I'll just go home and get a nap."

"If you see Viximon again while you're in Dreamland, tell her I said 'Hi!" Kiken jeered.

-I-

Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the apartment building I called home. I entered the ten-story building and rushed through the lobby, ignoring all the decadent trappings. I didn't need to see them anyway. I had passed them so many times I could recite all their details purely from memory. On either side of the twin glass doors that served as the entry to the building stood a pair of brass vases around a meter and a half high. I knew they were authentic brass because I had tried to lift one once, and nearly strained my back in doing so. They were _heavy!_ The plants they contained could vary depending on our landlord's tastes, and since we tended to get a new one every couple of months, the plants were always changing. Today they contained some sort of exotic fern with a variety of red-blooming flowers thrown in. The carpeting on the floor was woven of red fibers, as were the waiting chairs at the center. Nestled against the left wall was the door that led into the office, with a pair of large glass windows to either side of that. The blinds were drawn shut. Obviously, the staff was conducting some kind of "private" business inside. A pair of exotic trees stood to each side of the elevator, watching over the lobby like some kind of permanent sentinel.

I pressed the button for the fifth floor and waited. Soon enough the doors opened and I stepped into the elevator. Once I had reached my floor, I hurried down the hallway to my apartment, still not bothering to look up. I paused as I reached my door and looked up at the nameplate on it: Shukumei. It meant "destiny," and for that reason alone, I could not help but laugh. Destiny was a joke as far as I was concerned. My parents were business people. My grandfather had been a fisherman. As far back as I could recall there really wasn't anything special about my family. Yet always the men of my family had maintained that we were intended for great things. I doubted that.

I opened the door and went into my apartment. Almost immediately, I found myself shivering. Someone had left our air conditioning system on for too long. I found the thermostat and shut it off.

The apartment was empty. My parents were still working- as they always were when I returned home from school- and I was their only child, so I didn't have any siblings to join me. That was just fine. It meant I got the whole of our rather large apartment to myself.

The family room was spacious, large enough for a whole entertainment center against the northern wall, complete with a stereo system, a big-screen television, a video game console (although I'd hardly used this since I was thirteen), and a number of other, smaller pieces of electronic equipment.

The southern wall contained a large family portrait containing my mother, father, and me. My father was a two-meter tall man of average build. He wasn't what anyone might define as "buff," but he'd certainly kept himself fit by training in the martial arts. His straight hair was jet black, while his eyes were an icy shade of blue. His mouth was perpetually curled into a thin smile. My mother was a few decimeters shorter than he was, with strawberry blonde curls that ended at her shoulders, and a pair of sparkling brown eyes. Like my father, her lips always seemed curled into a smile.

The eastern wall held sliding glass doors that opened to our family's terrace. There was nothing my parents enjoyed more than to eat breakfast while watching the sunrise. The western wall was virtually non-existent, with only a bar marking the boundary between this and the kitchen/dining room. Beyond those, a single hallway led to the two bedrooms, a linen closet, and a bathroom.

As I moved down the hall toward my room, I passed by the guest bathroom. I paused a moment and stared through the doorway into the huge mirror mounted over the cream-colored vanity. Everything about me seemed normal. I stood just under two meters tall, clothed in a school uniform that consisted of a deep blue jacket with a white t-shirt, a midnight-colored tie, and a pair of black slacks. My short, jet-black hair sat atop my head in unkempt tangles. My dark brown eyes seemed lackluster and tired, with dark circles forming beneath their lids. Staring at myself, I sighed deeply before continuing on.

Soon, I had come to my room: the second door on the left. It was a typical teens' room. The walls were lined with posters, most of which I'd gotten from going to concerts with Kiken or Keirei. A single wooden desk held my computer, which I only used for school or computer club activities. A laundry bag sat against the far wall, and I reminded myself that I would have to empty that today. My bed was a wooden frame lined with dark blue covers.

I promptly tossed my bag on the floor and flopped onto it. I stared up at my cream-colored ceiling and sighed. Kiken wouldn't understand. He couldn't. As strange as it sounded, I was sure the cries, the calls I heard from Viximon were real. They had to be! I closed my eyes, hoping that sleep would bring some peace of mind, or at least give me a chance to figure things out. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to get my wish.

_"Cheisu…" _The voice was small, like a barely-recognizable whisper.

_ "Cheisu…"_ I opened my eyes, hoping that I was dreaming.

_ "Cheisu…"_

No! Not this! I didn't want this ever again! I'd heard the voice a long time ago, back when I'd still thought Digimon was a real thing. When I'd grown up and stopped dreaming, the voice had faded. I didn't want to hear it ever again, but apparently, it didn't matter. The voice came again. _"Cheisu, you must… Your digivice… Digidestined…" _

I sat up and rubbed my temples. The voice was trying to tell me something, but the words I could make out didn't make any sense. Digivice? Digidestined? "No, it's fake!" I yelled into the air, "It's all fiction! Do you hear me?!" My anger met with only silence, as if the voice didn't believe me. "Fine," I growled, "I'll prove it!" I slid off my bed and pulled up the edge of my comforter from the floor. Reaching underneath I grabbed a shoebox.

Like many kids, I kept mementos as I grew up, things that would later remind me of important times in my life. There were a few pictures, a scrap of paper with my first girlfriend's telephone number scrawled on it, a pencil from my first day of school… little things like that. However, there was one other thing: a toy digivice.

It was one of several I had owned, based on the digivices from the second season of the kids' show. Its curved design reminded me of a sweet potato, painted white with green edges. A black circle, in the center of which sat a small liquid crystal display screen, dominated the top half of the device. The left side of the circle was cut away and replaced by a pair of green buttons that looked like rounded arrows, one pointing upward and the other down. Just below the circle was a large white, circular button about half the black circle's size. A pair of arrows etched into it pointed to the left and to the right. It looked the same as it had when I was twelve: a toy.

Laughing to myself, I reached into the box to pick it up. I immediately wished that I hadn't. As soon as I touched the device, a brilliant golden light shot from it. I dropped the shoebox and covered my eyes, crying out. When the light had faded and I managed to open them again, I looked down… only to see that the toy I'd played with as a child was gone.

In its place was something very different. Cautiously I reached down and grabbed the

device. When nothing happened, I picked it up and began to examine it. The new device was rectangular, but the bottom edge was rounded. The top edge seemed to have some kind of silver button on it, while the front had completely changed. Where once the toy had contained a small LCD screen, a large, square shaped screen now dominated the top half. The bottom half contained three buttons that emerged from a circle, like the claws of some beast. The curved edge appeared slotted like an old card reader. "No way," I whispered, "This isn't possible.

_"Cheisu…"_ There was that voice again, and now the device in my hand reacted. The screen began to glow brightly, and my previously shut-down computer turned itself on. Rather than booting into the operating system, however, the screen just glowed. I looked at the device in my hand, and at the computer, then back again.

"What have I got to lose?" I mused. Kiken already thought I was crazy, so it wasn't as if I had a reputation to lose. If this was all fake as I hoped, I wasn't even risking my life. I stood up and moved toward the computer, holding up my digivice. "Well, here goes nothing."


	2. Chapter 2: Digidestiny Set In Motion

**Chapter Two: Digi-destiny Set in Motion**

Have you ever wondered what all that data goes through when it's downloaded or uploaded from one computer to another? Take my word for it. It isn't pretty. Before I could tell what was happening I found myself traveling through vast blackness. Even the light from the screen of my new digivice seemed swallowed up in darkness. Then there was a bright light, blinding even when I shut my eyes against it. Then there was cold, so that it chilled me to the bone. Then there was heat, so intense I thought my skin would melt off my bones.

Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, it all stopped. I found myself staring down at a strange island, covered with a vast forest. A large mountain dominated its center. I had never seen anything quite like it before. Yet it seemed familiar to me. Unfortunately, the next thing I realized was that I was falling right toward it! I cried out as the treetops rushed toward me at what seemed freefall speed.

Fortunately, my cries didn't go unheard. The next thing I knew, a yellow blur leapt from the treetops and caught me in strong, furry arms. Just before I lost consciousness, I looked up and saw her face. "Renamon?"

-II-

When I opened my eyes again, it was night, and I found myself laying in some kind of straw next just inside a small cavern. With a groan, I sat and looked around. Darkness had covered the forest, but the moon's pale blue glow still managed to filter through the treetops. I stood up and scratched my head, wondering just what had happened.

"You are awake. Good."

I whirled around to see who had spoken, and immediately found myself face to face with none other than Renamon herself. Her pale blue eyes twinkled in the starlight, and her vixen-like face was completely stoic. Although I couldn't see much more in the darkness, I could imagine her silky, golden and white fur. I could just make out the white mane that collared her neck, and could make out the details of her long violet gloves, the white yin half of the yin-yang symbol dimly illuminated by the moonlight. She held her tail erect behind her. Overall, she was a true picture of grace and beauty.

"Umm… thanks for saving my life," I began, not really sure of how to introduce myself to a creature I had thought to be the stuff of kids' fantasies.

The vixen digimon shook her head, however. "Think nothing of it," she answered, "I could not rightfully do anything less… for my partner."

Gasping I took a few steps backward, unable to believe my ears. "I'm… your partner?" I asked, "That's not possible! I… I must me dreaming. Yeah... I'm at home, asleep in my bed, and all this is just a dream brought on by my breakup with Keirei."

That sounded like a convincing excuse to me, but Renamon didn't look impressed. She tossed something to me. When I held up my hands to see what the object was, my eyes widened. It was my digivice. I stood silently for a moment, my hands trembling. "You dropped this in your fall," she stated, "I find the prospect as displeasing as you, but given that you possess that digivice, you are indeed one of the fabled Digidestined, and as I am the one who was fated to save your life, then it is likely that we are to be partners until this tragic tale plays out."

Struck silent, I stared down at the little device in my hand. A simple toy, a simple touch, had started all this trouble. I ran my fingers over the cool metallic surface, wondering at this fantasy-turned-nightmare as the reality of my plight dawned on me.

It was true. I was a Digidestined. It was all I had ever dreamed of, and now… now I found I didn't truly want it after all.

A storm of uncertainty whirled up like a typhoon in my mind. What would my family think? Would they worry? What of Kiken, Keirei, or my other friends? Would they miss me? If I ever managed to get back home, would they even believe my tale? How much schoolwork might I have to catch up when I got back? Would I ever make it home at all? I closed my fist around my digivice and squeezed until my knuckles bleached white. "I'm not getting back home unless I do this, am I?"

"It is unlikely."

"Alright," I sighed, "I'll be your partner if I have to, Renamon, but-"

"Riina," she interrupted.

"What?"

"My name is Riina," she repeated, "Not all Digimon go by their species name. To do so robs us of our individuality… our identities, and with the Digital World as in chaos as it is, sometimes that is the one thing we have."

"Fine… Riina," I conceded, "I guess I owe you for saving my life, but the minute I find a way to get back home and end this nightmare, and this partnership, I'm taking it. Are we clear?"

"As you wish." She turned and moved deeper into the cave. Shadows gradually swallowed up her shape until all that remained was a silhouette etched in pale gold by moonlight. "You will want to get some sleep," she said as she briefly halted, "We leave in the morning."

"Leaving?" I questioned indignantly, "Leaving for where?"

"You should know that better than anyone," came Riina's reply, "We are going to the Primary Village. As one of the most advanced digimon on File Island, I have a responsibility to protect it." Before I could object, she was gone, lost to the shadows as mysteriously as she had appeared.

"Great, now not only do I have to find my way home," I muttered darkly, "but I'm stuck baby-sitting a bunch of low-level, bubble-spitting digi-brats." I allowed my back to slide along the rock wall as I sank to the ground and closed my eyes, hoping sleep might take me from this. I thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, but as so often happens when such thoughts cross our minds, it was going to get worse… much… much worse before the end.

-II-

While Riina and I were resting in our cozy little cave, another digimon stood upon the beach, gazing longingly out over the ocean. He was short, about a meter tall. The pale moonlight overhead illuminated his wolf-like features. His blue-with-white-markings fur sparkled as if imbued with starlight all its own. His fluffy, white-tipped tail clenched against his back, providing partial protection from the chilly night air. Crimson boxing gloves covered the paws hanging at his side, while the strands of a tightly wrapped bandana fluttered in the breeze.

How long Gaomon stood there, I could not tell you, but it was nearly dawn by the time he turned around and began to make his way inland again… that is, until he heard a sound.

He turned back, only to see a great void open up in the sky. The vortex swirled violently like a tornado. Soon, something dropped from it. He strained his eyes to see.

"Help me!" His ears perked up at the sound of the scream, young and female. Instinctively, the wolf puppy digimon rushed forward. Too late, he realized he would not get to her in time… unless…

"ROLLING UPPER!" He leaped into the air. His body began to spin rapidly like a wheel, carrying him forward toward the terrified girl. At the last moment, he pulled himself out of his spin and caught her. Her terrified brown eyes stared at him. "Don't worry. You're safe now." he assured her.

He turned his head to look back toward the shore. "Hang on!" Reaching a single arm out, he twisted himself in mid-air. "DOUBLE BACKHAND!" Faster and faster his body turned, whirling like a top, like the blade of a propeller as he forced his way back toward land.


	3. Shori's Okami Kyuseisha

**Chapter Three: Shori's Okami Kyuseisha**

A storm of dust and sand whipped up around the girl and her digimon rescuer as the two made a less-than-graceful landing on the shore. He pulled in his arm just before his body slammed into the beach. He growled as the sand tore at his back, fighting to keep hold of the girl until the two at last came to a halt. It was only then that he let his arms fall to his side, and he released a breath he did not realize he had been holding.

She slowly stood up, her entire body trembling even as she began to look herself over. Gaomon looked up to see a young girl, twelve years of age. Her shining black hair was pulled back into a pair of tails that extended just to her shoulder, with red streaks running along the length of the strands. Her bright green eyes focused downward, looking over her black-with-silver-letters "Gackt" T-Shirt. The sleeves stretched just down to her elbows, revealing a dark gray shirt she wore underneath it. Thin plastic bracelets of blue, red, and green rested on her left wrist, while a brown belt held up her grass-stained blue-jeans, as well as keeping a brown leather card pack strapped at her side. Dust caked her black tennis-shoes, but otherwise they seemed no worse for the wear.

Seeing that she was uninjured, the girl quickly stepped forward and took Gaomon's paw, helping him to his feet. "Thanks!" she gushed, "If it wasn't for you I'd probably be at the bottom of the ocean right now, and I hate water!"

Gaomon accepted the offer, and once he was standing he quickly looked himself over. Apart from some stones littering his normally pristine-blue fur, he found himself unharmed. "You're welcome," he answered, "Although you might want to be more careful where you choose to take your flying lessons if you hate water miss-"

"Shori!" the girl interrupted, "Unmei Shori, and I wasn't exactly flying. See, I was trying to play the Digimon game on my computer at home, but I guess I'm not very good at it yet, 'cause when I went to slash one of my cards through the reader…" She paused, patting the case at her side, "… and smoke suddenly started coming from it. I tried to turn it off, but when I pushed the button it just started sparking and then glowing, and then this really weird gizmo appeared in its place. I went to pick it up so I could take it to my Dad so he could look at it, but as soon as I grabbed ahold of it, my computer screen started glowing and sucked me in… and… well… here I am."

Gaomon closed his eyes, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to sort through Shori's rapid-fire explanation. Something about the way she quickly rattled through those words made his head hurt. "Even so, you'd better be more careful in the future," he warned, "The Digital World is no place for childish antics. You could have been hurt, or worse." He turned and started to walk away.

"Digital World?" Shori asked, chasing after him, "You mean I've actually come to the- Oof!" She groaned as once more she found herself lying in the sand. She turned to see what had caused her to fall. Lying there, sticking half-way up out of the sand was the very gizmo of which she'd been speaking earlier: her digivice! In form, it was similar to my own, but colored differently- white with pink edges. She reached back and picked it up. "Wait a minute!"

"Huh?"

Gaomon stopped and turned around as Shori quickly brought herself to her feet. "If this is the digital world, then this gizmo must be my digivice!" she said, her voice rising in pitch with each word, "And if this is my digivice then…" She let out an excited squeal and rushed forward, catching the unprepared puppy digimon in her surprisingly-strong embrace. "Then that means you're my partner!"

Gaomon strained against the girl's grip until he finally managed to break free. "Look, if you've got a digivice, then you are one of the fabled Digidestined," he said, "but I can tell you that I'm definitely not your partner. I'm a lone wolf. I don't do partnerships, I don't do friendships, and I don't do heroics!"

"But… Kyuseisha Okami, you are heroic!" Shori argued, "You saved my life, so you must be my partner!"

Gaomon growled. "My name isn't Okami," he stated, trying to keep his voice even, "I'm a Gaomon, and I prefer to be called such. I-" He broke off as he saw his rejection bringing tears to Shori's eyes. He released a heavy sigh of resignation. "Alright… look," he said, "I know the island. I'll take you somewhere that you can wait until your real partner comes along, but only if you promise to stop following me. Understand?"

Satiated for the moment, Shori nodded, but in her heart, she knew she didn't want any other as her partner. Okami wouldn't understand. Her name for him was much more than a simple collection of letters. She had literally named him her "Wolf Savior," and to her, that made him special. She would convince him that they were meant to work together, whether this was a game or not.

-III-

Together, Gaomon and Shori left the beach and traveled into the forest. Day turned into evening, and evening turned into night. The darkness deepened all around them. Shori found herself clinging close to her savior, looking for comfort in the strength the wolf puppy digimon could offer. Gaomon, for his part, did his best to keep at least an arm's length between them. "Okami, is it going to be much farther?" Shori yawned, "We've been walking all day, and my feet are starting to hurt." Okami responded with a low growl, but otherwise he kept his silence. It would make this trip no more pleasant to be arguing with her than to have her complaining the entire way.

In fact, it was only an hour or so more before the two finally arrived at the location Gaomon had chosen. "Here we are!" he declared. Shori looked around, blinking in confusion. All that she could see around her was the forest, trees and underbrush for what seemed kilometers around. They stood before a large tree wide enough that it would Shori thought it would take three of her, touching finger-tip to finger-tip, to wrap all the way around. Her eyes followed the blue-violet trunk upward until it disappeared beyond the forest canopy and from there was lost to her sight.

"We're… going to climb this tree?" she asked, searching for branches or some other foothold before looking back at Gaomon in confusion.

However, Gaomon merely shook his head. "Not all is as it appears here," he told her, "Trees and other strange things like this exist all over the Digital World. Just walk forward and you'll pass right through the bark, and be able to stand inside the tree. No one will be able to see you inside, but your partner should be able to sense you when she comes nearby."

Doing as he told her, Shori walked forward, bracing herself as she half-expected to run face first into the trunk. Just as he'd said though, she passed right through and found herself standing inside a hollow chamber that stretched as high as the tree trunk. The view was plain but for thin, barely visible gridlines that probably marked the individual polygons that made up the tree's shape. Sighing heavily, Shori sat down, noting that although the floor appeared smooth, she could feel the dirt beneath her. "Are you coming, Okami?" she asked.

Gaomon had hoped the girl would be content in just waiting for her partner inside the safety of the tree, but it appeared he had been wrong. He sighed as she called his name before moving to join her. "I'll stay here for a little while," he said, sitting at her side, "But try to get some sleep." Shori's arms found their way around his body, causing him to blush, but soon, her head lay upon his shoulders. Soon, she was asleep.

Most of the night passed before Gaomon finally summoned up the courage to move. He slowly reached up and grabbed Shori's still-clutching arms, pausing and holding his breath when she so much as sighed in her sleep. Ever so carefully, he slipped her arms from around him and positioned himself so that she could lie comfortably on the floor of the tree. "Farewell, Unmei Shori," he said quietly, "Your partner is more fortunate than she knows… but I cannot be that one." So saying, he slipped out of the tree, leaving Shori to her dreams of adventure.

-III-

Shori awakened just after dawn. She slowly sat up and yawned. A chill sat in the air, causing her skin to develop goose bumps. "Okami?" she asked when she became conscious of her surroundings. Her eyes searched the tree's interior before she frowned. She had hoped that even if Okami wasn't her partner, he'd at least stay with her until her partner found her. Instead, he'd just left her alone. She quickly got to her feet and slipped out of her hiding place, tracing back along the path she and Okami had followed the day before.

She moved more quickly than the previous day. Without Okami's quiet confidence, the sights and sounds- or the lack thereof- pervading this forest were more than a little disturbing. Shori could hear the buzzing of a few small bugs, the almost-haunting whisper of the morning wind, the far-off rolling of the morning tide against the beach. She imagined horrid things lumbering from behind every royal-colored tree and black, inky things rising from every shadow. Several times, she thought she saw toad-like creatures with glowing eyes emerging from under the wide, bowing leaves of deep green shrubbery. The girl wrapped her arms around herself, as if to defend from whatever might attack her.

What a miserable morning the girl spent, wandering through the jungle in search of the wolf puppy digimon! However, her search eventually yielded fruit. She reached the edges of the forest, only to hear a ferocious roar from the very beach on which she'd arrived earlier. She paused and cringed. Great footsteps caused the entire forest around her to tremble, shaking loose a few leaves from the treetops. She bit her lip, her nerves telling her she should go no farther. "GAO RUSH!" Shori gasped as Okami's voice rang out clear and loud over the din.

Shori bolted forward, reaching the last concealing shrubs just in time to see Okami involved in a battle against an enormous creature. Bigger than anything with which Shori had ever had contact, Shellmon was nearly four meters tall. A spiraling gray shell, much like those Shori had often seen worn by small crustaceans made up most of that height. From every layer, several curved spikes jutted and then pointed upward toward the sky. The actual skin of the creature was a brilliant magenta, marred only by a few cyan flecks. A muscular body pulled along by two massive legs atop a pair of five-digit feet. The creature's head resembled the pictures Shori had seen in her books of the ancient Tyrannosaurus Rex, although his teeth appeared flat and mal-formed. His eyes glowed red, and Shori thought she noticed the sea weed-like tendrils on top of his head wriggling and writhing, as if alive.

There stood Okami, his fists furiously pounding against Shellmon's massive carapace, to no avail. Whenever Okami got near his foe's vulnerable flesh, Shellmon quickly retreated into the protection of his armored bulk. Okami growled and leapt backward. Faster than the Gaomon could react, Shellmon emerged from his shell, his head lowered. "HYDRO BLASTER!" Shori screamed as a deluge of water burst from Shellmon's head and hit Okami full on, knocking the wolf puppy digimon back. Gaomon quickly recovered and rushed his enemy again, once more attempting to pummel Shellmon into submission.

Shori gripped her digivice in her hands, squeezing until her knuckles turned white. "Okami," she whispered, "Okami… digivolve…" Her newfound friend didn't stand a chance as it stood. Even though she wasn't very good at her games, Shori knew his power level was completely impotent next to the brute strength of his opponent. Annoyed by the best that swatted against his shell as a tree no-doubt becomes with a woodpecker constantly looking for insects, Shellmon raised a single massive arm… and with a casual swat tossed Gaomon aside.

Screaming in terror, Shori forgot all about her cover. She shoved aside the foliage that had served as her only camouflage and rushed out onto the beach, attempting to reach the injured puppy digimon. "Okami, I'm coming!" She had to reach him! She couldn't let that monster hurt him anymore! Unfortunately, Shellmon took notice of her, and so began lumbering toward her. The earth shook with every step the massive digimon took.

Gaomon quickly looked up, only to see the girl he'd thought left behind in the forest rushing toward him, with Shellmon right on his back. He forced himself to stand up. "Shori, no!" he yelled, "Go back!" He howled and rushed Shellmon again, hoping to draw the water mammal's attention back toward him. Shellmon turned his head, but his last pawstep threw Shori off-balance, causing her to roll head-over-heels through the sand. "Shori!" Gaomon yelled. He glared at Shellmon as the massive digimon loomed over her. Shori tried to force herself to her feet. "You overgrown escargot!" Gaomon snarled, "You're going to pay for that."

It happened in an instant. Shori's digivice began to glow. Its blinding light quickly expanded and wrapped itself around the three. Inside that light, Gaomon felt energy rushing into his body, the sheer power of which he had never before felt. It threatened to overwhelm him and burst forth from his body at any moment, but instead, something else occurred! He felt himself taking on loads of data and growing…. It was then that Gaomon realized it. He was digivolving!

"GAOMON, DIGIVOLVE TO…" He stood on all fours. A pair of razor-sharp claws burst through the top of his boxing gloves while a pair of bandages wrapped around each of his back legs. His face morphed, becoming more angular like a full-grown wolf. A pair of saber-like canines rested against his lower jaw, while a golden, four-pointed star sat between his brass-colored eyes. His red band vanished, replaced by a scarf of the same color that fluttered back along the length of his now-huge body in the wind, stopping just a foot short of his curly, wolf-like tail. Around his neck and chest, a full mane of snow-colored fur had grown. Two sets of gold rings created braids on either side of it. "…GAOGAMON!"

When the light faded, he stood face-to-face with Shellmon, his lips curled in a feral snarl. Shellmon took a step back, and Shori looked up at the wolf digimon. For the second time in as many days, Okami Kyuseisha had lived up to his name. She smiled broadly, oblivious to the fact that she still lay on a battle field.

Okami, however, was not so ignorant of the fact. He rushed Shellmon. "DASH DOUBLE CLAW!" He reared up on his hind legs, bringing his front claws slashing downward. Shellmon quickly retreated into his shell, but it wasn't going to be as effective this time. Okami's claws carved through the carapace, dragging a trail of stone chips downward in a miniature avalanche.

With an enraged howl. Shellmon emerged from his shelter once again. He turned on Okami, completely forgetting Shori. "HYDRO BLASTER!" Once more, the full force of his watery attack surged its way toward Okami, but this time the wolf digimon was ready. He leapt aside just in time. A shower of sand erupted as the attack impacted against the beach.

"My turn!" Okami declared. He raised his back legs as if preparing to pounce. All at once, a fierce wind blew around the two at hurricane speed. The twin tails of his scarf surged forward, standing in front of him almost like a pair of horns. "SPIRAL BLOW!" Growling, Okami opened his mouth, and immediately a twister of air emerged, catching Shellmon's body full on. Even the mammoth digimon's bulk couldn't keep the attack from lifting him up and rocketing him back over the horizon. As Shellmon disappeared into the ocean with a massive splash, Okami snorted, nodding his head quickly in satisfaction.

Shori managed to pull herself up, staring adoringly up at him. "Okami, you digivolved!" she said softly, "You… You digivolved for… me!"

Okami lowered his head. "Climb on." Quickly, Shori scrambled onto the wolf digimon, her legs on either side of his neck. Okami turned and headed back inland, knowing it would be only a matter of time until Shellmon returned for revenge. "You are the one who made me digivolve, Shori," he said, "You were right… I am your partner… and from now on, I'll stick with you."

Tears emerged from Shori's eyes. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you, Okami," she cried, "I've never had a friend… like that before. She quickly kissed him between his ears.

"Nor have I," Okami admitted, "but it looks like we both have one now… I still don't do heroics but… it looks like I'm going to have to get used to them."

For a time, both human and digimon traveled in silence, each one contemplating the events of the past two days. Soon, the sun lowered itself into the sky, standing just over the ocean's sparkling waters. Shori yawned and stretched herself out, using the back of Okami's head like a pillow, but the wolf digimon just kept walking. "Okami," Shori yawned, "Where are we going?"

"To where it all began, kid… We're going to the Primary Village."


	4. Primary Encounters (Riina's Tale)

**Chapter Four: Primary Encounters (Riina's Tale)**

"_This_ is the Primary Village?" I looked about in disbelief at the scenery around me. I had always expected Primary Village to be a baby's paradise, with a ground soft as marshmallows, big blocks stacked up into massive towers filled with downy white feathers, digi-eggs littering the field alongside miniature cradles filled with infant, first-stage digimon, and treetops growing every toy a baby's heart could desire. What I got instead was something quite different. While much of the ground was still soft and green as a comforter on a newly-made bed, it appeared as if dirt and other materials had been brought in and placed over it. On top of it sat houses of gray and white, although a few were painted in more… exotic colors. No smoke rose from the chimneys that sat atop the peaked roofs, so it appeared as if the homes were abandoned. Many of the towers looked as if they'd fallen over long ago, and some were little more than a pile of feathers. The few trees that remained green didn't grow toys at all, but rather a green fruit reminiscent of a cross between a pineapple and a pear. No first stage digimon even played on the soft ground. All in all, Primary Village felt… well… lonely.

Riina walked ahead of me. Her head tilted downward as she sighed. "It has been like this for some time," she said softly, "Ever since the Great Exodus, this village, this whole island has been a very lonely place, but a few remain still." I started to ask what this 'Great Exodus' was, but before I got the chance, Riina raised her arms over her head. "It is alright!" she called, "You may all come out of hiding now!" A moment of silent stillness passed, as if even the wind itself was unsure of Riina's claim.

The sound was soft at first, a chattering as if from a baby, barely above a whisper. Another voice responded, and then another. Soon, the soft vocalizations exploded into a din. From within the houses and behind the piles of feathers, from behind the tress and even from beneath the ground emerged a veritable swarm of first and second-stage digimon.

I looked each one over, trying to identify it. I recognized the black, furry form of Botamon, and the pale, ghost-like figure of Poyomon. Punimon was easy to recognize because it looked like a little red ball with three fingers stretching out the rubbery flesh atop it. Also distinctive was the digimon called Nyokimon, due to the fact that its body resembled a small black seed with golden eyes and a small sprout on top. Pitimon's body resembled an upside-down tear drop with two small antennae sprouting from the top and three small spikes emerging from behind. It seemed to take great delight in floating turning itself over and floating to my side to stare at me with its curious, brown eyes. Beside these and several other baby digimon, I spotted a number of second-stage, or rookie digimon. Koromon looked like a pale, half-deflated beach ball with a fang-filled mouth and shimmering red eyes. Several Bukamon floated around my head, resembling pterodactyls with leathery brown skin, and orange-red, flame-shaped, tufts of hair growing from just between their eyes. A pair of flippers hung at their sides in place of wings. Every one of them seemed astonished to see a human standing in their midst.

"I can't believe it!" one exclaimed.

"I wonder what kind of attacks it uses," one pondered.

"Don't be silly!" scolded another still, "Humans don't use attacks! That's why we're here!"

On and on went the chatter, growing louder and more disorderly by the second until with a single, sweeping gesture, Riina raised her hands and silenced the young digimon. "Children, please settle down," she pleaded.

The bouncing digimon stood still. The flying and floating digimon quickly bobbed over and rested above their heads. Each one of them looked upon Riina with the same adoration and respect they might give a mother, or at least a favored teacher. Their big, shimmering eyes held more affection than I had ever seen any human show one another, save my own parents. In fact, I couldn't even remember seeing that look in Keirei's eyes…. Not even once.

Wanyamon, an in-training level digimon whose body resembled the head of a scruffy, blue-grey kitten with a tiger-striped tail that curled over his back and between his ears hopped a few inches in front of the others. "Are you gonna' tell us a story today, Riina?" he asked. His golden eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect.

Riina lowered her hands and sat down. She reached out and took hold of Wanyamon, placing him in her lap. "In fact, I am," she said, "This is a story from long ago, before my data was written. For generations it has been passed down from story-teller, to story-teller, and now, I am passing it to all of you. Remember it well." So saying, she began her tale.

-IV-

_Long, long ago, back before the Digital World became the barren place it is now, back before Primary Village became the last true haven for good digimon, before the skies grew bleak and the forests lost their green, back before the sea became so treacherous that we dare not cross it… back before all that…_

The Digital World was a peaceful place, inhabited by digimon of every species and level you can imagine… and even some you can't. In order to protect our prosperity, those we known only was the Harmonious Ones appointed four of the most powerful digimon as guardians of individual segments of our world, warriors to protect our borders and push back the darkness. To the east, the watchers appointed the Great Dragon, Azulongmon. The northern regions were entrusted to the care of the Unmovable Lizard, Ebonwumon. The western region fell under the jurisdiction of the Great Firebird, Zhuquiaomon, and finally, the southern region fell under the jurisdiction of the Feral Tiger, Baihumon. With these four watching and protecting the digital world, a powerful barrier was formed that kept out the dark powers seeking to invade.

Unfortunately, one of them found a weakness. The dark one, calling himself Apocalymon, found a weakness in the barrier, concealed only by a wall of Zhuqiaomon's fiery essence. No one is quite certain how, but he managed to cross that wall and invade the Digital World. The Harmonious Ones watched as he plunged our world into darkness, and as many digimon were deleted as they attempted to end him. Realizing that we digimon could not defeat this evil on our own, the Harmonious Ones sought out others. They looked to the mythical humans, whose powers were responsible for our creation, and seven they found among them… The Harmonious Ones worked quickly to build tools and weapons for the humans, and selected seven special digimon to lead the fight against Apocalymon.

With their combined strengths, these first humans to enter our world, known forever-after as the Digidestined, and their digimon partners managed to push Apocalymon back, but the darkness would not give up so easily, and the Harmonious Ones knew this. Back behind the wall of fire, Apocalymon gathered even more strength to himself, a vile power born from the suffering and misery of others, just as Apocalymon himself had been.

The Harmonious Ones worked quickly to find new Digidestined who could destroy Apocalymon's evil once and for all. To this end, they sent two digimon into the human world from ours… The first was a courageous young digimon called Koromon. He found himself in the company of two young humans: Hikari and Taichi Kamiya. The two cared for him a short while, and he quickly digivolved into his next state: Agumon. However, it was just after this that the Harmonious Ones deemed the time right to send their second herald- Parrotmon, a digimon corrupted by Apocalymon's evil influence.

Unawares, Hikari and Agumon sneaked from their home into the night, followed closely by Taichi. Soon, the small group encountered Parrotmon. Recognizing him as a corrupted digimon, Agumon took to fighting. The battle was loud and fierce, destroying much of the surrounding battlefield. Attempting to pull his younger sister from the battle, Taichi arrived just in time to witness an attack by Parrotmon that destroyed the bridge and caused rubble to bury the children and Agumon both. It was then that something incredible happened. For the second time, Agumon digivolved, this time to Greymon. Drawing his energy from Taichi, Greymon destroyed Parrotmon before vanishing back into our world.

The fight did not go unnoticed. While none of the present adults had the ability to see the fight, several other children watched from around the field. Observing them, the Harmonious Ones determined that these held the keys to Apocalymon's final defeat. They began their work immediately. 

_And so, four years later, when the time was right, seven of those human children: Taichi Yagami, Yamato Ashida, Sora Takenouchi, Koushiro Izzumi, Mimi Tachikawa, Joe Kido, and Takeru Takaishi, were drawn into the digital world by the powers of the Harmonious Ones. Each of them was given a digivice, a mystical vessel imbued with pure light. Together, the seven traveled across the Digital World with their digimon partners, growing stronger by the day, until the time when at last they had to return to their world, for the darkness had spread, finding a new gap in the barriers around the Digital World, this one leading to the human world. Here, he sought to conquer, and to destroy the eighth Digidestined chosen to end him- Hikari Kamiya. His plans were, however, thwarted by the very one he had sought to destroy, together with her digimon partner._

Their task in their world done, the Digidestined humans and digimon returned to our world, and took the fight to the Dark Masters, the most faithful, loyal, and powerful of Apocalymon's servants. Through much trial, they eventually succeeded, coming face to face with the darkness himself. Once more a fierce battle ensued, just as it had before, but with their strengths of courage, loyalty, hope, sincerity, knowledge, reliability, and light, and with the powers of their digivices, the Digidestined removed Apocalymon forever… but this victory was temporary.

Four years passed, and the darkness slept. The Digidestined humans bade farewell to their digimon and returned to their own world. However, a new power grew like a phoenix from Apocalymon's ashes… His even managed to keep digimon from digivolving. 

_To confront this evil, the Harmonious Ones had to work quickly. They sought power through an ancient form of Digivolving, and selected three new digimon partners and dig destined to battle this threat. With advice from the previous group, the human children known as Daisuki Motomiya, Inoue Miyako, and Iori Hida took up the mantle of the Digidestined. Unexpectedly, however, the Harmonious Ones soon found that two other digimon possessed the power to utilize this ancient form of evolution, and so it was that Hikari Yagami and Takeru Takaishi joined with these new Digidestined. _

_Together, these freed a sixth Digidestined child, Ken Ichijouji from the clutches of the darkness. As their power grew, these found a way to overcome the darkness, digivolving not only into their true champion forms, but as their hearts grew into one, digivolving even together. More and more Digidestined join the ranks as the fate of this world, and that of the Human World became forevermore interlinked. In time, it took all of these, humans from around the world to end the darkness, and for a new barrier to be placed about the Digital World. This done, the two societies: humans and digimon lived together, side by side for some time… Soon, there was no difference between us but for our race. But as humans died and digimon were reconfigured, these things were forgotten. Travel between the worlds ceased. The barriers between the worlds began to weaken. _

_To counteract this, the humans created a computer king to rule over and to study our world: Yggdrasil. He ruled fairly and wisely, his concern for the digimon always coming first, but as the barriers continued to weaken, and as human experimentation pushed the boundaries of our worlds closer together, he withdrew into himself. Soon, all but a few humans had forgotten about digimon entirely, and we about them._

Those humans who remembered continued their experiments, seeking to reunite the two worlds as they felt should have happened with the peace established by the Digidestined. Those digimon who remembered allied themselves with these humans. As the barriers weakened, amnesiac digimon found their way into that world. To prevent them from harming themselves or the humans, and to hold back knowledge that much of the world was not ready to rediscover, the Digimon Data Squad was formed. 

_Together, a number of brave individuals and their partners worked to protect both our worlds, but not all humans wished to see a peace established. It was not the darkness of the one called Apocalymon that infected him, but rather the darkness of his own heart, a fear and hatred that knew no bounds and held no respect for the life of human or digimon. Kurata is what the humans called him, and though he claimed to work on behalf of the human race, it became clear to the Data Squad that he held no one's interests at heart but his own. Unfortunately, he too assaulted our world through artificial digital gates… tears in the fragile barriers between worlds, and his efforts resulted in the loss of many, many brave and innocent Digimon souls. Yggdrasil believed Kurata's claims, believing that he represented humanity's interests. And so, when the barrier between worlds at last collapsed, and the two worlds, merging physically into the same universe, began to collide, Yggdrasil made his decision. In spite of Kurata's defeat at the hands of the Data Squad, humans had proven themselves too destructive to ever coexist peacefully with digimon. The human would would be destroyed in order for the Digital World to survive. _

_With the Royal Knights, thirteen Holy Knight digimon, under his command, he assaulted the human world. The Data Squad fought back valiantly, winning allies in both worlds and even a number among the Royal Knights themselves. Several of their number rushed to the Digital World to confront Yggdrasil, but our king would not listen… The two great forces clashed in a titanic battle as other humans around their world, and digimon around ours, came together to hold the worlds apart long enough for the outcome to be decided. Daemon Masaru and his partner Agumon were the ones who finally managed to best Yggdrasil, convincing him that perhaps it was best that human and digimon live and work together… that indeed, they could exist in peace. The spirits of all had provided the strength to keep the worlds apart, and through them, the barrier was restored… although it remained fragile._

Unfortunately, the time came when even these brave souls had to part ways… the Digimon felt it necessary to return to our world in an attempt to repair the damage that had been done. The humans thought it best to continue on with their own lives until that time when the worlds could again share full knowledge of one another…

_But that day never came._

_Years passed. Digimon and humans alike forgot about one another… and our worlds… our worlds continued on their own separate paths and orbits… continued to decay… The devastation remained. Many digimon grew feral, fighting one another over territory and for the chance that one day they might visit the Human World, now only a myth passed down in story. Some even de-digivolved to little more than chunks of data, so insignificant they could only exist… nothing more._

It was these with whom the humans first re-established contact, although the humans themselves believed they had created the digimon. With the humans' influence, the digimon gained sentience again, but another threat, this one indeed created by humans long before, began to emerge.

Among those who remembered the histories were the Digimon Sovreign: Azulongmon, Ebonwumon, Zhuquiaomon, and Baihumon. Some, notably Zhuquiaomon and Baihumon, spurned the influence of humanity, believing that the humans were responsible for hindering digivolution progress. The wars began afresh… Zhuiquiaomon gathered twelve disciples who shared likeminded views, and sent them into the human world through the still-fragile barriers.

Only a few among the humans had any knowledge of these events. Some sought to destroy digimon once and for all. Some, however, three children in particular, allied themselves with digimon and began to fight back against the twelve, the "Devas." With their digimon partners, each of whom had come to them under a different circumstance: One for a dream, one for love, and one… one for strength, they managed to destroy most of the Devas before coming to the Digital World themselves in order to confront Zhuquiaomon. A titanic struggle followed, and digimon lives were lost on both sides, but Azulongmon intervened at the last moment. He pleaded with his fiery associate to give the human children a chance, citing the fact that they were not the true enemy.

Reluctantly, Zhuqiaomon acquiesced. The surviving digimon and their partners returned to the Human World, only to find that the enemy had emerged there as well. With the fate of the worlds now inexorably intertwined, former enemies now became allies. The humans worked to stop the destruction of their world, while the Digimon worked against the same enemy to save theirs. 

_In the end, the combined power of human and digimon was enough to destroy the true enemy once and for all… but it was not without its cost. As a side-effect of the method used to defeat the enemy, the digimon partners needed to return to their world… or risk permanent deletion. The partners bid a tearful farewell, and then vanished._

The humans, however, were determined they would not be separated from their friends forever. One, Takato Matsuda, had made a promise to his partner, Guilmon: that they would meet up again. It was Takato who discovered the final gap in the barrier between worlds, and with a little bit of help from his fellow Digidestined, returned to the Digital World to reunite with their partners and return them to the Human World.

It is said that during this time, Takato, Guilmon, and the others discovered a source of great power, but to protect it, they inscribed what they found on a set of stone tablets and hid them… 

-IV-

_"_Much time has passed… The last digimon who remembered the truth are gone, either deleted or reconfigured so that their memories no longer remain," Riina concluded, "but the legend still flows on… and many digimon have sought to find those tablets… Some seeking power for themselves… some desiring contact with the mythical humans once more, some seeking to destroy the tablets… but that war is what has brought our world to the brink of destruction, whether the story I have told you is truth or a great myth… And if it is not stopped soon, then our world may be at last destroyed."

I gazed between Riina and the young digimon. The story had, to me, sounded like a long recitation of history, rather than some epic tale, but the children were enthralled… each and every one of them, and the words of the final part of that story seemed to affect Riina deeply, as if she somehow connected to them more than to the rest of the story.

At last, Wanyamon spoke up again. "Riina, now that you have a human partner, are you going to go look for the tablets?" he asked, his voice filled with a mixture of equal parts concern and excitement.

Riina nodded slowly. "I must," she said. The vixen digimon's voice was far too quiet for her. "If Cheisu and I can find the tablets, and unlock the power they contain, we can stop this war, and we can save our world, and all of you can grow up in peace… as it was intended."

"Riina, I thought you'd never leave the village behind," a voice commented, "I thought someone had tied your tail to it."

Riina growled. I spun around, only to find myself looking over the great wolf digimon: Gaogamon.


	5. Primary Problems

**Chapter Five: Primary Problems**

Riina was on her feet in an instant. Her clawed fingers curled into tightly-balled fists. "Gaomon," she snarled, shaking with barely-controlled rage, "You know as well as I do why I had to stay! You and I are the two strongest digimon on this island, and we were both given a responsibility to protect the young digimon here! Instead, you chose to abandon that responsibility and go off in pursuit of your own personal gains! You have no right to even show your face here, digivolved or not!"

Gaogamon's response was a feral growl. His white mane bristled, and his front claws raked the dirt in front of him. "I don't have to answer to you, Riina!" he returned, "The Digital World is in crisis, and the only way to help solve that crisis is to get stronger. Babysitting a bunch of infant digimon won't make a bit of difference if the tablets are found and this island is invaded… again!"

I looked back at Riina just in time to see her wince. Something about Gaogamon's response had touched a nerve inside her. She fought to hold back tears. "How would you know anything about that?" she asked quietly, "You didn't have to live through it like I did… You didn't-"

"Okami, what's wrong?" Shori awakened just in time to hear the argument. She sat up, looking curiously over the scene before her. She took note of the golden digimon who was confronting her wolf partner, and of the baby digimon watching intently, some whispering amongst themselves, but when she noticed me, her face lit up. She scrambled down from Okami's back. "Hey, I didn't think I'd meet another human here!" she chimed, "I'm Unmei Shori!" She offered a polite bow.

I had thought before that things could not get any stranger than what I experienced, but now I was proven wrong yet again. Now, not only I, but a second young human had been dropped into this world I had dreamed to be nothing but the stuff of children's fantasies only a couple nights past. Even so, I didn't intend to be rude. I quickly hid my discomfort and returned the bow. "Shukumei Cheisu," I responded, "And this is Riina."

The vixen digimon ignored us and turned, walking away with her arms folded. As the shadows of the encroaching forest touched her body, Riina's form away until the darkness swallowed her. Shori looked after her, confused. "Did I say something wrong?"

I shook my head. "I… don't think so," I answered, "She's been like that ever since I first came to the Digital World. The only tenderness I've seen from her has been toward these baby digimon."

Okami padded over to our side, sighing heavily. "She always did care a bit too much about this village," he plainly stated, "You're her partner, Cheisu. Go and find her."

I hesitated. The way Riina had simply vanished, it was pretty obvious to me that she wanted to be left alone, and I still wasn't ready to admit to being her "partner," inescapable as that now was. "Why don't you go see her?" I shot back, "You're the one who caused her to walk off in the first place!"

Okami shook his head however. "Her issues run deeper than that," he answered, "That's one reason I left this village. I couldn't stand being around her when she was either gushing over the tots or crying over some great loss she'd supposedly suffered. I knew there was no way I'd get stronger when I had to constantly deal with that, so I left. But you're her partner. It's your responsibility to try to bring her back to her senses." He curled his lip, warning against further protest on my part.

Grumbling, I turned away from the two digimon and walked into the forest. Almost immediately, the light from the Primary Village faded away. The forest draped its shadows around me, sending a chill down my spine. I wished now that I'd brought a coat as I began my search for Riina. Things were too quiet. The only sound I could make out was the soft rippling of a nearby river. In this strange place, I could not recall ever feeling so alone as I did now. "Riina!" I called out, only to have my voice thrown back at me. "Riina, where are you?!"

The farther into the wood I moved, the more uneasy I began to feel. Even though I could not see them, I could almost feel eyes watching me from the shadows. I slowed my walk and leaned down to pick up a solitary stick. It wasn't much, but it looked strong enough to strike a few solid blows if whatever laid in wait decided to stop watching and start attacking.

The sound of the river grew louder as I approached. The air grew colder and more humid. I could almost feel the individual droplets sticking to my skin as the water neared. My fingers clutched more tightly at the stick until splinters dug into my skin.

At last, the waterway came into view as I pushed aside some thick purple underbrush.

I welcomed the light of day again as the thick forest around me cleared. The riverbank before me had been eaten away over the years, leaving an eight-centimeter drop between the shore and the surface of the water. My eyes passed left and right, searching for any sign that Riina had come this way, but just as the previous night, she left no trace when she vanished.

Leaving the protective cover of the forest behind, I ventured closer to the river. "Riina!" I called again. Unfortunately, as before only the echo of my own voice greeted me in return. Sighing heavily, I knelt down by the bank, staring into the rippling waters as I wondered where Riina could have disappeared.

"If I were you, I would be less concerned about my partner, and more concerned about myself."

At the sound of that deathly voice, I jumped up and whirled around, instinctively holding my stick en garde. The creature standing before me was none other than Goburimon: a hunched-over, green-skinned digimon with a flat face, red eyes, and a mouth sporting two rows of pointed, plaque-covered teeth. His right arm wielded a nasty-looking wooden club, and with his left he reached up, slicking back his fiery-colored Mohawk. Suddenly the stick I held in my own hand felt a bit useless.

Goburimon stepped forward, his voice rasping with every movement. He pulled his thin lips back, bearing his teeth in almost-feral delight. I took a step back, curling my fingers so tightly around the stick that my knuckles turned white. "The only question," Goburimon cackled, "is whether I should finish you off myself, or send you into the river and letting you drown. Either way, I know I will be greatly rewarded for eliminating one of the famed Digidestined." He took another step forward. I took another back. A clump of loose soil gave way beneath my feet, falling with a KRPLUNK into the river.

Goburimon's skilometer widened, if that was even possible. He raised his club high over his head and bellowed a charge. I quickly glanced left and right, looking for somewhere to retreat, but it looked as if the only clear path I had led straight into the river. I took one more step back and prepared to get wet…

"DIAMOND STORM!" Out of nowhere, shards of bright white energy flashed toward Goburimon. The ogre digimon leapt backward, barely avoiding being turned into Swiss cheese. Riina gracefully leapt from the treetops above, placing herself between Goburimon and me. "Attack my partner again and I'll see you deleted," she snarled, "No sovereign in all the Digital World would be willing to make the effort to revive you."

Goburimon laughed. "That's big talk from a digimon who lays around sniffing flowers all day," he said, "If you think you're so tough just 'cause you have a human partner, then allow me to test you!" He raised his club over his head again and charged, shouting, "GOBURI STRIKE!" Riina stayed perfectly still. Goburimon swung his club, aiming directly for her mid-section. At the exact instant of impact, Riina vanished. Goburimon's club whistled through empty air. Goburimon stumbled forward and looked around. "Hey! No fair running away from battle! Coward!"

"Who ever said anything about running away?" Riina's voice echoed through the forest, "Has no one told you? Appearances can be… deceiving!" Goburimon looked up just in time to see Riina once more descending on him from above, but this time the vixen digimon was diving right toward him. "POWER PAW!" Riina stretched her paws forward and instantly blue flame enveloped them. Goburimon held up his club in defense, only to have it knocked aside and burned to ashes by Riina's flames. Goburimon's normally fierce eyes widened in fear. He turned and ran toward the forest, but Riina wasn't done yet. "DIAMOND STORM!" More razor shards of energy formed around her and lanced their way toward Goburimon, striking him with deadly accuracy. Goburimon cried out in pain before suddenly disintegrating, becoming nothing more than what seemed to be a cloud of red dust which dissipated almost as quickly as it formed.

Riina nodded in satisfaction and then turned back toward me. "How could you be so foolish?!" she growled, "The Digital World is a dangerous place, and now it seems that even File Island is not as safe as it used to be! You should never have come out here on your own."

I looked incredulously at her. "Don't lecture me!" I responded, "This never would have happened if you hadn't decided to storm off on your own in the first place! I was out here searching for you! You're the one who insisted that we're partners, so don't you complain when I come after you!"

Riina crossed her arms. "Hmph… You should have come when I needed you before… I was hoping you'd let me be on my own… just like you did then." She turned and started toward Primary Village.

I started after her. "Just like I did then?!" I argued, "What do you mean?"

"I do not wish to discuss it Cheisu," Riina answered, "Come… We need to get back to the village before nightfall. We have a long journey ahead of us, and the sooner we get you back home, the better."


End file.
